The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children George and Charlotte pose in the grounds of their Norfolk home for their official Christmas 2015 portrait released by Kensington Palace.

@KensingtonRoyal / Chris Jelf

December 17

Katie Holmes and her daughter, Suri, greet Hillary and Chelsea Clinton at a fundraiser for the secretary of state. The event was co-hosted by her daughter, Chelsea and Drew Barrymore.

Katie Holmes / Instagram

December 17

The Duchess of Cornwall poses with a unicorn at the finale of The London International Horse Show at Olympia.

Rex

December 17

David Cameron arrives for the European council meeting in Brussels. The prime minister is meeting with European leaders to discuss EU reforms, the migrant crisis, the fight against terrorism and climate change.

Getty

December 17

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall hug in the picture, taken this summer in Scotland, chosen to go inside the royal couple's Christmas card this year.

Getty

December 16

The first image of Natalie Portman portraying America's former first lady, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, is unveiled. The Oscar winner is currently filming Jackie in Paris. The film is due for release in 2017.

Pablo Larrain / Why Not Productions

December 16

Ryan Reynolds reveals the birth date of his and Blake Lively's daughter, James, on her first birthday. The couple did not disclose news that the baby had arrived until a month after the birth.

Ryan Reynolds/Twitter

December 16

Prince George is photographed in a car with his mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, and his uncle, Prince Harry, on the way to the Queen's annual Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace.

Rex

December 16

London's Shard building is lit up for the festive period.

Rex

December 15

The Beckham family's dog, Olive, joins Instagram, racking up 54,000 followers in 24 hours. The first post, a picture of 16-year-old Brooklyn cuddling the cocker spaniel, is captioned: "This is my owner I'm just helping him with his Christmas homework".

A piece of Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding cake goes up for auction with a starting bid of $1,100.

Nate D. Sanders Auctions

December 15

Victoria Beckham shares a cartoon drawing of herself dressed as Darth Vadar, as the newest film in the Star Wars franchise is released.

Victoria Beckham/Instagram

December 14

Star Wars: The Force Awakens characters R2-D2 and C-3PO arrive at the world premiere of the film in Los Angeles.

PA

December 14

Serena Williams is unveiled as Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson Of The Year - it is the first time that an individual woman has received the accolade since track athlete Mary Decker in 1983 and the first time ever that the title has been awarded to a black woman.

Sports Illustrated/Twitter

December 14

David Walliams and Joanna Lumley dress up as Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry to promote Walliams and Friends, a BBC sketch show in which the comedy duo will play The Great British Bake Off judges.

BBC

December 13

Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Calvin Harris, pose with Mr and Mrs Claus in a Snapchat taken at the singer's 26th birthday party in Malibu.

DJ Snake/Snapchat

December 13

Taylor Swift releases a video on Facebook on her 26th birthday to announce that Apple Music will exclusively debut her concert film, The 1989 World Tour Live. The announcement came six months after the singer penned an open letter to the company criticising their decision not to pay royalties to the rights holders during their three-month trial period. The streaming service altered their policy shortly afterwards.

Facebook/Taylor Swift

December 13

Women in Saudi Arabia take part in the country's elections - both as voters and candidates - for the first time ever. Of the 130,000 women who registered, 82 per cent turned out to vote at polling stations with initial results indicating that 19 female candidates have been elected.

Getty

December 12

A painting by Banksy is seen at the entrance of the Calais refugee camp in France.

PA

December 12

Cara Delevingne shares a photograph of a family gathering on Instagram with the caption, "Happy (crazy) Christmas".

Cara Delevingne/Instagram

December 11

The Eiffel Tower displays the message "No Plan B" as the United Nations Climate Conference on Climate Change continues.

Getty

December 11

Blake Lively shares a throwback photograph of herself as a child with Beverly Hills, 90210 star Jason Priestly, captioned: "#tbt to when Serena Van Der Woodsen and Brandon Walsh were a thing. Shh don't tell @robynlively", referencing her older sister's relationship with the actor in the early Nineties.